GMAT Verbal: Sentence Correction

Join Communities:

As we cover the last type of question on the verbal section of the
GMAT, keep in mind that each of these
sections/components should be equally studied. Because you never
know which type of question you'll be getting! So be prepared by
reading these lessons, doing the practice tests!

Don't worry Julie Andrews, we'll cover it all!

Tell me more about these sentence
corrections!

Well, sentence corrections make up about one-third of the verbal
questions on the GMAT, so you'll probably
see around 16 questions throughout the section in random
order.

It will be in the form of a long sentence partially or
completely underlined. Your job is to figure out whether or not the
underlined part of sentence needs to be revised or changed in order
to make it grammatically correct.

Instructions,
Instructions

Read these now so you won't waste valuable time when you're in the
exam…

Directions: Each
sentence correction question refers to a sentence, a portion or all
of which has been underlined. If you think the sentence is correct
as written, pick the first answer choice, which simply repeats the
underlined portion exactly. If you think there is something wrong
with the sentence as written, choose the answer choice that best
replaces the underlined portion of the sentence.

Sentence correction questions are designed to measure your correct
use of grammar, you ability to form clear and effective sentences
and your capability to choose the most appropriate words. Pick the
answer that best states what was meant in the original sentence
while adhering to the requirements of standard written English.
Avoid constructions that are awkward, unclear, or
redundant.

Whew..ok so now that you've read the very official instructions,
let's go over ways in which you can look at the questions to
analysis and answer them sufficiently.

You read above that the test markers are looking for the "best"
answer which translates to the "most correct". One of the things
that some people get hung up on is that the correct answer is not
always the one that sounds like it would be the most correct
answer. This is because we may not use the very most correct
versions of sentences in our language from day to day.

The Little Things

And then I don't feel so bad… The important thing about
spotting errors in your sentence correction questions is to realize
that it's all about a process of elimination. If you can spot the
error and eliminate the other questions you'll be golden!

Choice A is something to look out for. It becomes the choice that
makes the sentence as you read it the most correct answer. This can
get confusing if answers following seem not very different at all.
Look out for little things in the grammar. Here are some common
sentence mistakes to look out for…

Is the pronoun ambigious?

Do the words used contradict other parts of the
sentence?

Are commas used correctly?

Is the right tense used?

Are plural forms used when they're not needed?

A tip: Don't get hung up on what the sentence SOUNDS like. This may not be the most correct answer.
Don't pick an answer based on if it sounds better, pick it because
it looks grammatically correct. In these tests you have to be
specific and read the sentences critically skimming for
mistakes.

Tricky, Tricky

Something to look out for is a question that you know right off the
bat has a mistake, and so you just pick a quick way to correct it.
But, what could happen is in the process, add another part in which
makes the sentence wrong again by adding an additional error. Don't
just pick the answer that fixes the initial problem, pick the
answer that fixes the initial, and doesn't add anything else to
make it wrong yet again.

Take the Approach, any
Approach

You Know the Flaw

As I've mentioned before, a great strategy is to take into
consideration the process of elimination. You can do this by…

Finding the Flaw (grammatical error in the sentence)

Read Your Choices (which of the choices corrects the
flaw?)

Cancel Out the Bad Ones (so you're left with the ones that
correct the initial error)

Read What's Left (are there any additional errors added to
confuse you?)

Pick Your Answer (pick the one that corrects the first problem
and does not include anything else fishy)

Well, I Don't Know the Flaw, Now
What??!

You might be asking, well, what if I..don't see the grammatical
flaw? It may be a bit harder, but there is a way. Skip step
one!

Read Your Choices (do you see anything that's different? Any
errors in the choices?)

Cancel Out the Bad Ones (if you see errors in the choices, get
rid of 'em!)

Read What's Left (do they still work with the sentence
given?)

Pick Your Answer (pick the one that works the best in the
sentence and the one without errors to start)

Now go frollick! Use your new skills and put them to
the test with over 50 sentence correction trivia!

Post Comments

Hi mansi , the answer must be
"payments are not expected to be paid when they will be"

"There is no overlap between questions found in the Official
Guide for GMATÂ® Review, 11th Edition, the Official Guide for
GMATÂ® Quantitative Review, the Official Guide for GMATÂ® Verbal
Review, and GMATPrepÂ®." this is what the official website claims.
For more info
Click Here

Post Comments

Thank you Mr Sureshbala..does the OG have the same questions as
the official CD sent by GMAT team on
registering for the GMAT test??
another question:
The bank holds $4 billion in loans that are delinquent or in such
trouble that they do not expect payments when due.

Hi mansi, on behalf our entire team let me thank you for these
encouraging words…
As such plenty of lessons on both Verbal Ability and Quantitative
Aptitude are scheduled for our GMAT
community. In addition to these resources available on LEARNHUB you can go through "Official Guide for
GMAT Review-11 Edition" for more
GMAT practice questions.

Post Comments

If you look at the question - the sentence is pretty awkward.
"Having immigrated to Canada at the age 14, his first
film…." - in this sentence the first 2 clauses are next to
each other. As a result it seems that Ivan's film migrated to
Canada at the age of 14 years.

Since that sounds pretty dumb, we are inclined to read another
meaning into the sentence and therefore we have trouble trying to
choose the correct option.

A great way to correct such sentences is to try to word them in
the simplest way possible - so that there is no room for
confusion.

The 3rd option is way too awkwardly constructed - too many
clauses and there is a lot of subject/object confusion.

The 4th option implies that the film migrated to Canada - which
we know is preposterous.

The 2nd option is better - there is less confusion about the
subject and it's comparatively simpler. The sentence can be simpler
though - however, you will need to choose the best option from the
options that you have.

I hope this clarifies things. Please feel free to raise any
other query!

There are some great practice questions for you to work on in
the GMAT Question Bank. You should be able to find
hundreds of questions from each section so that you can practice up
on them all.

Here's a quick example so you can see what to expect:

We have been experiencing some extreme weather lately, ranging
from very hot to very cold, which will spell out bad news for the
polar bears and other animals whose habitats can be found on the
ice floes which continue to melt and break.

The climate continues to warm, which will mean that the
polar bears will suffer due to melting ice floes.

A. which will mean that the polar bears will suffer due to
melting ice floes.
B. which will mean that the melting ice floes will make the polar
bears suffer.
C. and this will mean that the ice floes will cause the polar bears
to suffer.
D. and the resulting melt of the ice floes will cause much
suffering for the polar bears.
E. and as a result, the polar bears will suffer, the melting of the
ice floes.

ANSWER: D

Here's how I came about it using the things we've learned in the
lesson above:

Finding the Flaw: Which works very awkwardly in
this sentence because it doesn't have a noun to explain it.Therefore cancel the bad ones: A-C can then be
canceled.Read what's left: We have D and E, and E has an
incomplete structural error at the end of the sentence that doesn't
correct the problem.Pick your answer So D is the correct
answer.

Apply to Top MBA Colleges accepting GMAT

About the Author

Name:KristaAbout:
Life is beautiful. I enjoy traveling, meeting new people and hearing their stories, street festivals, art installations, patios, concerts, film, knitting terrible scarves and living each day to its fullest.
Last Updated At
Dec 07, 2012
9082 Views